A Light Warrior Tale: The Reign of Chaos
by Theoneknownasme
Summary: Another two months, another chapter. Noticing a trend yet?
1. Foreword

Well, I'm actually living, contrary to popular belief. I have a huge case of writer's block on my FF sequel, so I figured I'd write a story about the game itself, not just a sequel to it. This whole story is going to be first person perspective, and I'm hoping that it'll progress faster than my other story. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy license. That belongs to Square-Enix, or whatever the hell they call themselves, though I will continue trying to gain it. Final Fantasy, you will someday be mine!

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_Fate._

_None can escape it. All people on this planet have a purpose, a destiny that they must fulfill. No one is in control of their lives, no matter how much they believe they are. Free will is virtually nonexistent, merely an absurdity that the people of the past invented. Fate rules all.  
_  
I can only assume that finding this story was a pure accident. My name is widely known, but as a warrior, not a writer, so very few people ever actually read my manuscripts. If you wish to read something that is well grounded in fact, then I suggest you put this book down and return to what you were originally searching for. You see, there are things written here that I myself would not believe had I not experienced them myself.  
  
My name is Steven. I have no last name, for those of you who were wondering. If I ever had one, it has long since been forgotten by all, buried deeply by time. I am a citizen of Coneria, and one of the King's Knights. I am also a Child of Prophecy, a Warrior of Light.  
  
Chances are, you've read more than one transcript regarding the legendary Light Warriors. I assure you that all of them are complete truth. There have been many warriors that were destined to fight Chaos, and there are many more to come. History has a strange tendency to repeat itself.  
  
But I digress.  
  
This story will be told as the writer perceived it, but I will not be the only teller of this story. My comrades will have their own share to tell. I advise that you take a seat, or borrow this book from wherever you found it. This tale is quite long, and it cannot be read in only one sitting.  
  
It is my honest hope that you enjoy this story. If you do not, however, then enjoy the freedom and prosperity that we fought to achieve.

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God, I absolutely love the plot of FF1, or lack thereof. It gives so many openings for an actual story, it practically begs to be written.  
  
I hope to have the first chapter up within a week. Until then, see ya!


	2. Meetings of Fate

Well, it's been two months since I posted the Foreword of my story, and I now have a computer that is usable enough for me to type on. So, without further ado, here's chapter one… Okay, I lied.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the Final Fantasy license or any of the characters portrayed in this novelization. Those rights belong solely to Square-Enix. _Now_ here's chapter one.

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Before beginning the story in earnest, I would first like to let you know that this story will not begin like other stories. A flashback before a near-death experience, for example, or a beginning where everything is as it should be. This story is not a work of fiction, and it will not be told as such.  
  
This book may also not be entirely accurate in some places. The contents of this story are dependent upon the memories of the people writing it. Human memory is not eternal, and there are some parts that cannot be remembered sufficiently to be anything but a summary of the events that happened. That having been said, what follows will be an account of the war against Chaos.  
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It was a quiet night. Peaceful, even. The streets were nearly empty. The only people around were a few shopkeepers, looking as if they wished they were at home like everyone else. Even the town square was quiet, the vendors finished hawking their goods for the day.  
  
The local tavern that I was at was a different story. The musicians on the raised platform had just started playing "The Merry Traveler", and nearly everyone in the room was clapping and stomping their feet along with the music. I say nearly everyone; one person had his face buried in a mug of ale, trying to drown his sorrows with alcohol.  
  
That person was me. It had been the same routine for nearly a year: go out into the crowds, knock out a couple of rich out-of-towners, take their money, and drink the rest of the day. I'm not going to say that I was happy, but I wasn't suffering. At least, not until that quiet night.  
  
I was on my fourth mug of ale, but the memories still came. An intense heat, a glowing inferno where my family's house was supposed to be. The townspeople were already clustered around the raging fire, but I already knew what had happened. The fire began to burn out, and the people began walking away, their interest fading. I sat by the charred remains of my house, waiting for the last embers to die. A couple charred bones were all that I had been waiting to see. I slowly stood up and began walking down the street.  
  
I don't know how long I had walked, or how far. All that I could feel was a sense of numbness, a deadened feeling that filled me entirely. I rented a room in an inn on the outskirts of town. There was nowhere else for me to go, and no reason for me to do anything else. I sat in that room for nearly a day before the pain of loss finally hit me. When it did, though, it hit me like… well, like one of the Four Fiends in a really bad mood. I sat on my bed and cried for hours, until there were no more tears. I suppose I fell into a depression at that time. I went down to the tavern and spent all my money drinking. It had become an addiction, the pattern that I had fallen into. Every time I tried to put myself on a new path, it called me back, persuading me to take the easy way out. Instead of working my way through the pain, I postponed feeling it. I would probably be doing the same right now if not for that one fateful night. It seemed an unlucky coincidence that I could not forget my problems on that night. I have since learned that what may seem like coincidence is actually the subtle weavings of Destiny, of Fate.  
  
But I'm rambling. As I said before, I could not forget my pain. Hoping to exhaust myself enough to fall asleep, I began walking around the town, stopping just long enough to clear my head at the fountain. That was when my life changed, for both better and worse.  
  
I sometimes wonder if things may have turned out differently had I not decided to stop at the fountain, or if I had waited just a bit longer before setting out. Of course such a thing is an impossibility if fate takes as strong of a hand as it did with me. I really had no control over my life, or I would not have chosen the hard life of a warrior.  
  
I continued walking down the street at a brisk pace, hoping the exertion would drive away any unwanted memories. Then _they _appeared. I dodged behind a house so they wouldn't see me. I didn't know why, but I wanted to stay out of their way as possible. I soon found a reason for my apprehension. One of them wore a red-lined cape, and though the other almost completely disappeared into the surrounding darkness, I knew what they were. Mages, of the Red and Black orders. Mages were rare in Coneria, even more so after the Black Order was blamed for the restless seas and the bad weather. To see even a Red Mage, respected by nearly all in the world for their mastery of both types of magic, was a surprise. But to see him in the company of a Black Mage? It was almost too much to hope for. Mages normally carried items that could be sold for a hefty profit, and I was already thinking of what I might find. Of course, mages were dangerous to steal from, but the best could normally manage it with very little difficulty. And I was one of the best in Coneria.  
  
The two continued through the town headed for the west gate leading out into the forest. I quickly checked my belt to make sure I still had my sword, and followed. The sword had become almost a part of me, so much so that I could never tell if it was with me or not. They stopped upon reaching the large western gate, and I quickly dove behind a large barrel. Had they seen me? Were they even now backtracking, making sure that no one was following them? I breathed easier when they moved on into the forest. I counted to twenty- slowly- then followed them, making sure to stay in the shadows created by the silver moon. The yellow moon was beginning to rise along the eastern horizon, looking for all the world like a pale sun. I grinned and drew my sword quietly. They were close, now; the faint rustle of a mage's robes rustling over the long-dead leaves, the occasional snap as a red-lined cape caught on the branches of a bush, was just enough to give the two mages away.  
  
I stalked forward, slowly, ever so slowly… and stopped as a wooden staff shot out from behind a large oak tree. The next thing I knew, there was an arm wrapped around my shoulders and a blade at my throat. I swallowed loudly. This was_ not_ going the way I had planned.  
  
"I could kill you now, but I'm curious as to why you were following us. Of course, I'll kill you anyway, once you're done explaining," A voice whispered in my ear. I could tell by the sound of his voice that it was the Red Mage- black magic does strange things to a mage's mind and body, including their voice. Then the Black Mage spoke, and I began to wish that the other had killed me when I had the chance.  
  
"Let him go. He's no harm to anyone in the state he's in right now." The words were innocuous enough, but the voice was enough to drive a man mad. It started as a sibilant hiss at the beginning, but there was a strange quality to it, almost as if he was drilling into your mind and driving you insane, slowly but surely. The Red followed the Black's orders though, and I thought I was home free. Of course, I was trapped tighter than I had been when the Red Mage held me hostage. I now owed the Black Mage my life, because his friend would have killed me had he not spoken. Then I spotted salvation swinging through the trees. One of my childhood friends was coming to my rescue. The Elven thief, Kyle.  
  
The thief landed right in front of me, and drew his twin blades. He never got a chance to use them, though, for as soon as he touched the ground, the clearing that we were standing in began glowing. I looked up in the sky, and was perplexed by what I saw. Where there was supposed to be two moons was only one, and it was neither yellow nor silver, but a brightly shining gold. I looked around and for the first time, I noticed the ruins nearby. Four stone balls sat in a row along a stone wall. Each ball had a picture of one of the elements engraved on it. What really amazed me was that the orbs seemed to be pulling the light from the moon in towards themselves, and with each second, they grew brighter. A bright flash lit the sky, and when I next looked, the stone orbs had been changed to pure crystal, each one a different color. Red for fire, green for earth, blue for water, and white for air.  
  
I looked at the three others standing with me. Each one of them looked as spellbound as I felt at the moment. It seemed that I would have to be the foolhardy one. I sighed and walked up to the wall. It was more of pedestal, once I got close to it. I reached out and put my hands on the red orb and… nothing happened. I picked it up and tried to move another, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't budge. Sighing, I went back to the other three. My boldness seemed to startle them out of their stupor as, one by one, they each went up and claimed an orb. The Black Mage took water, while the Red chose air. That left earth for Kyle, and he happily took it.  
  
The glow started fading from the air. I looked up again and saw the silver and yellow moons moving away from each other. I looked at the two mages and grinned. We all knew what the orbs meant. The prophecy of Lukahn was well known in all lands. "An age of darkness and shadow shall descend upon the world. The Orb Bearers shall come, and put an end to evil. The Orb Bearers… The Light Warriors". I shook my head, and looked more closely at the orb I had chosen. It felt warm to the touch, and glowed with a dull light. We knew what were supposed to do, but we had no idea how to go about doing it. Finally, Kyle spoke up.  
  
"So, we're pretty much total strangers, we've been brought here by what seems like pure, dumb luck- or un-luck, if you prefer-, and we're supposed to rekindle the light of the four elemental orbs, without any inkling of how to go about doing it. Is that pretty much all that we have to do, or are we supposed to put an end to crime, too?"  
  
The Red Mage shook his head. "It would probably be best if we we're introduced first. I'm Robert, and my creepy companion is Jacob." The Black Mage waved slowly. "So, who might you be?" I introduced myself and Kyle, and then sat on the ground for a moment.  
  
"This is too much… I need to get some rest." I stood up again, making sure to keep a tight hold on the Orb of Fire. "I've got a room at an inn on the east side of town. We could all stay there for the night."  
  
Jacob –who shall now be referred to as "Jake"- agreed in his sepulchral voice. "We all need rest… But how will we get in? The gates are locked to all coming in after sunset."  
  
I gestured to the orbs. "These will be our keys." We all walked back through the forest to the west gate. A guard blocked our path, prohibiting us from going any further. I sighed and walked forward, making sure to keep the orb hidden.  
  
"Access to the city is restricted after sunset. Who are you, that you think you can bypass the law?" It was at this point that I revealed my orb. The other's walked forward, each following my lead. The guard could only stare in surprise.  
  
"Who are we? We're the Orb Bearers, the Light Warriors. Now, I suggest you let us in before we force our way in." The guard was still staring, but he finally called up to the watchman on top of the wall.  
  
"Dyl, open the gates for these people. And then…" He swallowed audibly. "Then send a messenger up to the castle. Tell them…" He took a moment to recompose himself, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief. "Tell them that the Light Warriors are here."  
  
There was a faint clatter from atop the wall, and the gate quickly opened. I thanked the guard and we were on our way.  
  
"Could we have really forced our way in?" Kyle wondered after a while. I merely shrugged. After a fifteen minute walk through town, we stopped outside the inn that had been my home for nearly a year. I quietly opened the door and walked up the woman behind the counter. She looked up at me and smiled sympathetically. She had been one of the many that had watched my home burn to the ground, but unlike the others, it was more to see if everyone was all right instead of simply gawking.  
  
"Steven. How are you feeling today? Do you want your usual rooms?"  
  
"I'm feeling fine, and, yes, I would like the usual rooms. Oh," I lowered my voice and went on. "Do you know of a place where my companions and I could lay low for awhile?" She frowned, thinking.  
  
"I'll have to have the owner make up a list, but I'm sure we can find a place somewhere." She handed the key to me and we went on up to the rooms. I divided rooming up according to who had known each other longer.  
  
"Mages, you get the room beyond that door," I said, pointing to the only other door in the room. I turned to Kyle. "We sleep in this room." The two mages trekked into their room and went straight to sleep, or so they've told me. I sat on my bed, swung my feet up, and put my head on the pillow. It had been a very eventful night.

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Whoo… started writing this at midnight, finished at four in the morning. I'm dead tired, but I feel a strange sense of accomplishment. So, first _real_ chapter. I must say, this is much easier to write than my other story. Now…  
  
_marinawings_- "Breathless anticipation?" Sounds like you were really looking forward to this… hope it satisfies.  
  
_Seagull 12348_- Cool! You like me, you really like me! Seriously, though, I'm glad you like it.  
  
_Ovo_- Y'know, you have one of the easiest names on this site. And (for those of you who had a chance to read it), I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again- If a choice is preordained, how can it truly be called a choice?  
  
Well, chapter two should be up shortly. I'm going to keep this going, even if only a few people read it.  
  
See y'all later!  
  
_Theoneknownasme_


	3. Preparations

Wow! Seven reviews for only a chapter and a half? Once again, wow! Of course that could be because I've been leaving _reviews_ (Assorted collection of gasps, oohs, and aahs).

Note: A few of you may have missed chapter one due to my stupidity. I replaced my author's note instead of uploading a new chapter. My bad. Anyway, go on back and read it if you missed it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, Square-Enix, blah blah blah blah blah, you get it. I'm not going to do these anymore. I mean, if I owned FF, then why the heck would I be writing fan fiction about it?

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**Chapter Two:** _Preparations_

Seven o'clock... at least, that's what the loud gongs produced by the city's church bells were telling me. By my standards, that's at least two hours too early to start adventuring. If I had had my way, all four of us would have stayed in bed until midday. I say all four of us because if it was only me, the other three would inevitably end up making a lot of noise, thereby forcing me to wake up. I burrowed deeper under the covers, determined to ignore the tiny voice that was telling me to stop being lazy. Steven just didn't want to listen to logic, and I wasn't going to argue my point with him any more.

"Do you just enjoy making things difficult?" he asked me, a note of exasperation in his voice. He had been trying –unsuccessfully- to get me out of bed for the last half hour.

"No. I enjoy my sleep. Now go away," I mumbled, hoping that he would finally listen to me. No such luck. I shivered as the warm wool blanket suddenly disappeared. Sitting up and looking around, a saw that my "friend" was the one responsible for the sudden lack of warmth. "Why don't you go wake up the mages?" I asked, somewhat grumpily.

"Because I knew that _you_ wouldn't kill me on the spot," he replied, shrugging.

"Is that so?" I asked under my breath. I had trusted Steven, but after betraying me like this, I wasn't sure if I could continue doing so. I mean, he pulled me away from my sleeping time! That was a big mistake. "So, when _are_ you going to wake them?" I asked, trying to find out how to get back at him.

He shrugged. "In a couple minutes. I want to make sure that you don't drift off again. Remember, like it or not, we're all stuck in this together."

"Then why don't we both go back to bed? I mean, unless you particularly want to be on the receiving end of a fire spell, the other two aren't likely to be waking up soon." There. A perfectly logical explanation for a couple more hours of sleep. There was no way he would be able to win against that. Of course, I hadn't counted on his mule-headedness.

"Guess that's just a chance I have to take, yes?" He remarked, walking to the door. I groaned. Perhaps absolute stupidity would be a better description than mule-headedness. At the very least, the description wouldn't make people think higher of him than they should, and it fit almost perfectly. I watched, somewhat frightened about what kind of trouble he would cause. Luckily, there was a knock at the door before he had the chance to do whatever it was he was going to do. "Would you answer that?" he asked me.

"These are your rooms," I pointed out. "Whoever it is, they're probably looking for you."

"True," he said, sighing. He walked over to the door and talked to whoever it was for about five minutes. He looked a bit angry when he came back, and he was busy tearing a piece of paper to shreds.

"What was that?" I asked between yawns. This early morning thing was _not_ going to work. I could see that from the start.

He grimaced. "Apparently, the King took an inordinate amount of interest in our... shenanigans... last night. He wants to see us around midday." He tossed the remains of the paper into the fireplace and set fire to them, watching them burn to ashes.

"Great!" Happy wouldn't begin to cover what I was feeling at the moment. We had just gotten an excuse to sleep in! At least, that's what I thought, until...

"I've got to wake the mages. We're probably going to leave soon after meeting the king." He walked over and pounded on the door to the adjoining room. Two thuds answered, seeming to come from opposite sides of the room. Apparently, the two mages were not too fond of each other. I turned and looked at our beds, gauging the distances. They were by no means close, but there wasn't five hundred feet of space between them, either. Why I cared at that moment, I still do not know.

An explosion sounded shortly afterward, and it took all of my willpower to not cower like a child. "What in the world was that!?" I yelled, shielding my head as a large chunk of the ceiling shook loose.

"I don't know. Whatever it was, they caused it," he replied, pointing at the door behind him. I watched fearfully as the door slowly creaked open. I could easily hear the two of them, arguing about something.

"... Told you not to lose your temper like that! You could have brought the whole inn down on top of us!"

"It wasn't my fault. You have no idea what a Black Mage's life is like. Compared to us, your life is nothing but happiness. To be forever controlled by the power that courses through your veins... it's nearly unbearable. I have very little control over it, if any at all."

The two mages joined us, the red one looking faintly put out. "Future reference," he began, looking at the two of us, "don't ever do that again." Steven nodded wordlessly, still surprised by what had happened. _Serves him right, waking us all up like that,_ I thought.

"So, why did you do that in the first place?" The Black Mage- Jake, he had called himself- asked.

"We've got to get going," was his short reply. He turned and walked out of the room, grabbing his old sword as he did. I followed suit, and met him outside the inn. "So, what are we doing?" He shook his head, and held up one finger. Apparently, he was waiting for something. I wondered what it could be for a moment. I got my answer soon afterward, in the form of two magic users.

"Alright, here's the plan. We split up; each of us goes to a different part of the city. We buy what we need, we meet the king, and we get out of town without any trouble. But," he continued. I grimaced at the "but". "But" meant that there was most likely going to be work involved. "While we're looking for whatever we'll need, we should also talk to the townspeople, find out if there's anything that needs to be done. I'd rather start this quest with a purpose, instead of just aimlessly wandering around, wondering what we're supposed to be doing." I groaned quietly. Yes, the "but" _did_ imply that there was work to be done.

He took out a small bag and emptied it into his hand. There they sat, sixteen gold pieces, each one worth about twenty-five gil. Around Coneria, that could get you a good sword, and possibly a chain-mail shirt. He gave four to each of us, keeping four for himself. "Where did you get all of this?" I asked curiously, stuffing the coins in one of the many pockets of my clothing.

"You of all people should know the answer to that," he answered grimly. I thought for a moment, remembering that he had spent a year of his life as a thief. Apparently, he hadn't spent all of the money that he stole. "Alright, that's it. Meet back here in about three hours." He walked off to the west end of town, where all the weaponry was located. The other two just stood there, not really sure about what to do.

"Umm... could you tell us where all of the magic vendors are?" the Red Mage –Robert- asked quietly.

"North end of town. You can't miss them," I answered, pointing vaguely to the north. The thanked me and went on their way. I headed off to the east. Someone was going to have to buy the food, not to mention the healing potions and such. Apparently, I had been chosen to do so. _This_ was going to be a lot of fun. I knew right then and there that the whole journey was not going to be like this.

I looked around slowly, trying to find the vendor that sold all of those overly-preserved foodstuffs. We wouldn't be bringing much real food along, since we couldn't risk it spoiling. Dried meat, various dried fruits, and water. That was what our diet was going to be for the better part of this journey. Real food would be a luxury to be enjoyed in town inns.

_There_ he was. I was beginning to think that he had taken his wares somewhere else. Very few people ventured outside the city walls anymore, afraid of the evil that we were fated to stop. The population of Coneria grew slowly, as many adventurers began settling there after a long life of journeying. They always had a lot of money on them, and I could always tell which people were worth robbing. I quietly cursed Lukahn for prophesizing the coming of the Light Warriors. If the prophecy hadn't been made, I would still be leading a normal, everyday life. I could remember it like it was just the day before, because it was.

"Umm, sir? Can I help you with anything?" the vendor asked, a bit irritably. Apparently he had been asking that for a while. I had been lost in my own thoughts for at least five minutes, by my reckoning. It was probably longer.

"Yeah... Four of your basic food packs, if you can spare them." His eyes lit up.

"F-four, did you say?" He asked hungrily. I nodded slowly. "Nobody's even bought one for nearly a month now, and you want four? Kid, for keeping me in business, I'll give you a special discount." He waddled – he had extremely short legs- into his little shop, and came back out, carrying a goodly-sized pack over his shoulder. He had another wrapped in his short arms. He dropped them on the small counter in front of the store, and hurried back inside for the other two.

"So how much is that?" I asked when he returned.

"For you? Fifty gil, no more." I pulled out two of the golden coins and dropped them in his hand almost negligently. I was just about ready to go when I remembered what Steven had said- gather as much information as you can.

"So, has there been any trouble around lately?" I asked, offhandedly.

"Nothing around here, no." He frowned, as if suddenly remembering something. "There was something going on up at the castle, though, now that you mention it. Maybe you should ask around there." I thanked him, grabbed the packs, and was on my way.

The castle. It just happened to be exactly where we were headed. Fate was giving us a huge push in the right direction, it seemed. I asked random pedestrians that I met on the street, and they all said the same thing. It seemed that our answers were in the castle, if there were any answers to be had.

I made my way to the fountain in the center of town. I sat down, breathing a sigh of relief. Those food packs were much heavier than they seemed. Steven had wanted us to wait by the inn, but the fountain was closer. The inn was still nearby, and it was much cooler near the sparkling water than on the streets. I didn't have to wait for very long before I saw the mages walking toward me, coming from the general direction of the castle. Each one carried a book under his arm. Steven joined us shortly afterward, coming from the west, where the Elemental Altar was.

"Anyone find out anything?" He asked as he arrived.

"Just that we need to go to the castle," was my reply. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Good. Great. Let's drop our things off at the room in the inn. Then we'll go see the king. We'll come back for them after the meeting." he said. I resisted the urge to cheer loudly. I wouldn't have to carry those packs around anymore! There was still something bothering me, though.

"Should we bring our weapons along?" I asked. "We won't be allowed to have them near the king."

"I thought of that already, and yes, we are taking the weapons along. They'll hold onto them at the front gate for us, and I feel safer in the city, knowing that I have a weapon at my side." I understood perfectly, and that was the end of that discussion.

We made our way back to the two rooms, dropped our stuff off, and hurried north toward the castle. Our little shopping excursion took longer than I had though, and we had just enough time to get there. Two guards, however, blocked our progress.

"We're here to see the king," Steven said grandly to the guards as we neared the castle.

"Who are you, to expect the king to see you uninvited?" One of the guards asked angrily.

"Oh, but we _were_ invited." He nodded once, and we all took the hint. Moving almost in complete synchronization, each one of us withdrew our chosen orb from wherever we had hidden it.

"You see," he continued, "we're the Light Warriors."

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Whoo. Another two months, and only one measly chapter. This one almost hurt to write, it was so boring. Well, at least it's out of the way, and now I can get to work on a much more interesting chapter! Woo! I'm not going to make any deadlines for the next chapter, since I inevitably will not have it done by said deadline. Just check back every once in a while.

Till next time, I'm going to go beat my head against the wall in the hopes that I will forget about our marching band music for a while.

_TOKAM_


End file.
